Utopia Today, Dystopia Tomorrow ✔

1

Anastasia

"Uniform? Seriously?" I ask my dad.

"Yes, because the school you're going to is prestigious. Each student is required to wear a uniform." He states.

"Ugh fine." I sigh.

As soon as he leaves the room, I start wearing the uniform that my maid laid out for me on my bed. It's a white full sleeve school blouse with a black blazer that has the school logo stitched on the top left and a black skirt. I then wear my black tights and slip on my new school shoes. I tie my long hair in a high ponytail, before heading out with my dad. I sit at the back seat of my dad's car, waiting for him to start driving.

"Got everything you need?" He asks.

"Yeah," I nod.

He sighs, before speaking again, "Now listen, remember what I said. When you go in, you will do an exam."

"About that..." I go quiet, as a question comes into my mind.

"Yes?" He listens.

"What type of exam am I taking? You didn't tell me about it." I ask.

"It's an exam that will determine how intelligent you are." He responds.

What type of school would make their students take an exam that would determine their intelligence?

"What if I fail?" I ask curiously.

"Let's not get into that, you'll pass don't worry." He argues.

I sigh, looking at the towering buildings of Manhattan. My dad sighs as well, feeling anxious. What is he worried about? I wonder to myself.

"Are you okay?" I question him.

"Y-yeah," He stammers, "Just have faith in yourself, I know you can do this."

I nod, looking back at the window. Do I really have faith in myself? I lost faith the moment my mom passed away. I prayed to God for her to get well but it's obvious my prayer wasn't answered. Maybe it was for the best. She was getting worse day-by-day. I guess she was taken away before the pain got worse. I'm glad she isn't suffering now.

***

We reach my new school. I get out of the car and before I set off, my dad stops me.

"Wait, Ana!" I turn around to look at him.

He gets out of the car and hugs me. I hug him back instantly.

"Good luck!" He exclaims before he gets back into his car.

"Thank you." I smile.

"I love you, sweetheart." He starts the engine.

"I love you too, see you after school." He smiles and drives off.

Turning around, I look back at the enormous contemporary school standing in front of me. I let out a breath, reassuring myself that I'll ace the exam. I enter the school and look at my surroundings. Lockers on either side of me and people mingling. I know the way to the principal's office as I came here before when I visited the school to see what it looked like. Once I reach the door that leads inside the principal's office, I knock three times.

"Enter." A deep voice demands.

I come in, seeing a middle-aged man on his computer, looking up at me. He is wearing a dark blue suit, his pompadour hair give some hints of gray and his eyes the color of steel blue. He looks well and organized for this age.

"Close the door, please." I close the door then sit on a chair in front of his desk.

The office is very big, with windows as walls. The desk is of high-quality light oak wood. There's also a coffee maker on a tea table that he has in the office.

"You must be the new girl, Anastasia Delaney, is that correct?" He asks.

"Yes," I reply firmly.

"I'm Principal Cohen." He stands up from his work-chair, reaching out his hand to me.

We shake hands.

"You'll be required to do an exam right now." He sits back on his chair.

"Um, here?" I ask.

"Yes," He responds.

I take my pencil case out of my bag and wait for the papers to come.

"You don't need a pen." He says.

"Oh." I put my pencil case back into my bag.

"You'll be doing the exam on a tablet." He states.

Who does an exam on a tablet? Oh, wait! A fucking prestigious contemporary high school. Not that I mind, to be honest.

Before I could say anything, we hear a knock on the door. Principal Cohen tells the person to come in. A woman in a light gray suit appears, holding a tablet in her right hand. She comes in and hands the tablet to me, then heads out to the door.

"Now, listen to me very carefully, I won't repeat this." He says sternly.

Turning my head back to him, he explains, "There are one-hundred questions you must answer. Twenty-five questions are on English, twenty-five on Science, twenty-five on Math and twenty-five on general knowledge."

Damn, that's a lot of questions.

"You will have one hour to answer these questions. You must get at least seventy-five percent to pass the exam. Is that understood, Anastasia?" He asks and I nod, ready to do the exam.

"Good." He sets the timer. "Your time starts now."

Let the exam begin...